Chapter 19 · Crown Blood Starts Now

Lyra was hanging twenty feet above the new ring, and she had a number painted across her chest.

Vessel-12.

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. The chains holding her were thin enough that I could see them cutting into her wrists, and her head was tipped forward like she'd passed out. Blood dripped off her fingers. Slow. One drop every few seconds, hitting the mat below with a wet little sound that echoed through the empty arena.

"Mara." Kade's voice came from behind me. Flat. Wrong. "You need to step into the ring."

I spun. He was standing at the edge of the platform, hands loose at his sides, face blank. His bond mark was lit up along his collarbone, pulsing red instead of the usual gold. Someone else was driving.

"What did they do to you?"

"Doesn't matter." His eyes tracked me, but there was nothing behind them. No anger. No guilt. Just that dead, steady stare. "You step in, or she drops. You've got sixty seconds."

Nox unfolded from my shadow, black smoke crawling up my arm. Its voice scraped the inside of my skull. *He's leashed.